TWO, IF NOT THREE, RELIGIONS ARE MALIGNED

Wherever, whoever and whenever in the world a deadly attack is launched specifically against whichever ethnic or religious community, the person or persons responsible must be roundly condemned by the entire world. And more so, by the particular religious or political faction the attacker/s is/are from. This is not to say that any deadly attack (not based on religious belief) which take innocent lives is any less evil or wrong. But this is to say that no religion should tolerate violence as an acceptable and laudable sentiment or means of dealing with religious differences (let alone consider the use of violence as a means of converting others to its own religious beliefs). And as such, a religion and its community should demonstrate its strongest disapproval of such violence by any of its adherent/s.

Proactively, religious communities must be responsible to earnestly and urgently educate their adherents that violence is not a tenet or virtue of their respective religions and is against the will of their respective founders and/or their deity/deities. People of any religious persuasion must grow up knowing this; and that, should they do so, their own religion will disown and condemn their action/claim.

Most regrettably, it is when any given religion has political ambitions of its own in the sense of having superior numbers as in being a majority community, and having political superiority as in holding political power that so-called religious wars have been forged and fought throughout human history. Human beings have demonstrated their (that is, our) propensity to make their/our respective religions to justify any kind of political ambition or objective, thus, subjecting our own respective religion to disrepute and condemnation. I myself believe that the so-called crusades was one such example. And so also apartheid in South Africa and its off-springs elsewhere in the world.

Just yesterday, Sikhs bade an excruciating farewell to six of their loved ones, victims of a lone gunman who went into a gurdwara (temple) in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, USA. The gunman is said to have had links with a white supremacy movement and that he might have mistaken the Sikh community from a Muslim community. In one go, at least two religious communities are maligned; three if the white supremacy group can be or claimed to be linked to a religion.

This dastardly act was performed and must have been planned to take place when devotees were at worship. What (in Heaven’s name) supremacy can such an utterly irreligious act claim? What religion, pray God, can approve let alone inspire such an act? Murdering those in an act of worship is no act of worship for anyone in any true religion to any true deity.

All who are truly religious of whatever persuasion mourn with the Sikh community over this inhuman, barbaric, irreligious act against their loved ones.